41. The CEO wants a carousel
The CEO asks you to add an auto-rotating carousel to the homepage because a competitor has one. Your analytics show users rarely click past the first slide. What do you do first?
- A.Build it exactly as asked; the CEO has the final say
- B.Refuse, because carousels are known to be bad
- C.Ignore the request and hope it is forgotten
- D.Ask what goal the CEO is trying to reach, share the engagement data, and propose testing an alternative against that goal
Show answer
Answer: D. Ask what goal the CEO is trying to reach, share the engagement data, and propose testing an alternative against that goal
The request hides a goal, such as promoting more products. Understanding it lets you offer solutions that meet the goal, backed by data. A test turns an opinion debate into evidence, and keeps the relationship healthy.
42. The buyer is not the user
In a B2B expense tool, finance directors buy the product, but employees use it daily and complain it is slow. Leadership only wants to design for the buyers. What is the strongest argument?
- A.End users are always more important than buyers
- B.Buyers do not care about design
- C.Both matter: buyers decide, but poor employee adoption leads to bad data, workarounds and churn at renewal, so research and design for both and show adoption metrics to buyers
- D.Ask the buyers to force employees to use it
Show answer
Answer: C. Both matter: buyers decide, but poor employee adoption leads to bad data, workarounds and churn at renewal, so research and design for both and show adoption metrics to buyers
B2B products have several stakeholders with different jobs. Buyer goals like compliance depend on users actually adopting the tool. Linking user experience to renewal and data quality makes the case in business terms.
43. Two VPs want different things
The VP of Sales wants enterprise features; the VP of Growth wants self-serve onboarding. Both say theirs is top priority. What should the PM do?
- A.Split the team in half without any discussion
- B.Wait until one VP gives up
- C.Frame both against goals; get leaders to decide
- D.Pick the request of the louder VP
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Answer: C. Frame both against goals; get leaders to decide
Conflicts between leaders are about company strategy, so the PM should lay out the options, evidence and trade-offs against shared goals, then get a clear decision from whoever owns that strategy.
44. Leadership hands you a solution
The CEO tells your team to "build a rewards wallet" by next quarter. What is the most useful discovery response?
- A.Refuse to start any work until a full six-month discovery study has been completed
- B.Build it exactly as described to save time
- C.Clarify the outcome it aims for, map its key assumptions and test the riskiest quickly
- D.Ask customers to vote on whether to build it
Show answer
Answer: C. Clarify the outcome it aims for, map its key assumptions and test the riskiest quickly
Leadership ideas often have a good intent behind them, such as more repeat purchases. Making the outcome explicit and testing the riskiest assumptions lets you improve or redirect the idea with evidence, without stalling or blindly building.
45. A RACI with gaps
In a RACI for a data migration, "Validate migrated data" has an A (Finance Head) and three Cs, but no R. What will likely happen?
- A.The Finance Head will do it as Accountable
- B.Nobody does the validation, and the gap shows late
- C.The Consulted people will share the work
- D.The task is complete because it has an owner
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Answer: B. Nobody does the validation, and the gap shows late
Every task needs at least one Responsible person who does the work. The Accountable person approves but may assume someone else is doing it, and Consulted people only advise. Review RACI rows for missing Rs.
46. Influence without authority
You need a busy data team lead, who does not report to you, to give your project two days. Using Cohen and Bradford's idea of "currencies", what is the best approach?
- A.Offer something they value, such as visibility or help back
- B.Ask your sponsor to order them to give the time
- C.Remind them that the company's goals come first
- D.Copy their line manager on every single request
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Answer: A. Offer something they value, such as visibility or help back
Influence without authority works by exchange: understand the other person's goals and pressures, then offer something they value, such as recognition, information or reciprocal help. Escalating first damages the relationship.
47. High- and low-context communication
A Dutch manager writes very direct emails to Gulf-based client leaders, who find them blunt and stop replying. Which concept best explains this?
- A.The Kano model of customer delight
- B.The power and interest grid
- C.Push versus pull communication methods
- D.High-context vs low-context communication
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Answer: D. High-context vs low-context communication
Edward Hall described low-context cultures that rely on explicit words and high-context cultures where relationship and setting carry much meaning. Adapting tone, building relationship and using more context improves engagement.
48. A team that always sandbags
A team always beats its estimates by 40%, and the sponsor now discounts every estimate they give. What is the main long-term harm?
- A.The team will receive too much praise
- B.Projects finish early and budgets go unspent
- C.Estimates lose meaning, so planning and trust both suffer
- D.The sponsor will ask for more features
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Answer: C. Estimates lose meaning, so planning and trust both suffer
Padding protects the team short-term but trains stakeholders to second-guess every number. Honest estimates with explicit buffers or ranges make planning reliable and keep credibility.
49. When competing is right
Which situation best justifies the "competing" (forcing) conflict mode?
- A.Two peers disagree about meeting times
- B.A long-term partner wants a small favour
- C.The team is debating a design with time to explore
- D.A safety rule must be enforced immediately despite objections
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Answer: D. A safety rule must be enforced immediately despite objections
Competing is assertive and uncooperative, useful when quick, firm action is vital, such as safety or legal compliance. Using it routinely damages relationships.
50. Nominal group technique
How does the nominal group technique differ from open brainstorming?
- A.Everyone speaks freely and the loudest idea wins
- B.All ideas come only from the facilitator
- C.Experts answer anonymously over email rounds
- D.Ideas written alone, shared in turn, discussed, then ranked
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Answer: D. Ideas written alone, shared in turn, discussed, then ranked
NGT combines silent idea generation, round-robin sharing, short clarification and individual ranking. It balances participation and produces a prioritised list; anonymous rounds describe Delphi.
51. A key stakeholder goes quiet
A previously active business owner stops replying and skips two reviews before UAT. What is the best interpretation and action?
- A.Assume they are happy and continue as planned
- B.Remove them from the stakeholder register
- C.Escalate to their boss on the first missed meeting
- D.Treat it as a warning sign and reach out directly to learn why
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Answer: D. Treat it as a warning sign and reach out directly to learn why
Silence can mean overload, changed priorities or quiet disagreement, all risky before UAT. A direct, friendly check-in finds the cause; escalate only if it continues and threatens the project.
52. A memo instead of slides
Some companies replace slide decks with a written six-page narrative read silently at the start of the meeting. What is the main benefit?
- A.It shortens every meeting to about five minutes
- B.It removes the need to include any data
- C.It forces complete reasoning and gives shared context
- D.It lets the author avoid difficult questions
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Answer: C. It forces complete reasoning and gives shared context
Writing full sentences exposes gaps that bullet points hide, and silent reading means everyone starts the discussion from the same understanding. This is a known practice at Amazon.
53. Escalating a peer issue
A peer PM keeps taking your shared designer's time without asking. When should you go to their manager?
- A.Immediately, so their manager hears it first
- B.Never; it is always best to keep quiet
- C.Only at the yearly performance review cycle
- D.After raising it with the peer and failing to agree
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Answer: D. After raising it with the peer and failing to agree
Talking to the person first is respectful and often solves the issue. Escalation is appropriate if direct talks fail, presented as a resource conflict needing a priority call, not a complaint.
54. Reframing a request
A director demands "a mobile app" for field staff. Interviews show staff just need to see job details and close jobs offline. How should you respond?
- A.Build the full native app exactly as requested
- B.Restate the goal as an outcome and offer options
- C.Tell the director the app is simply a bad idea
- D.Ask the field staff to vote on building the app
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Answer: B. Restate the goal as an outcome and offer options
Shifting from a requested solution to the outcome needed opens cheaper or faster options, such as a mobile web form that works offline. The director keeps ownership of the goal while you advise on the "how".
55. Too little communication
A project is actually on track, but stakeholders believe it is failing because they hear little. What is the main lesson?
- A.Results always speak for themselves without updates
- B.Stakeholders should trust the team without any proof
- C.Only failing projects need regular status updates
- D.Perception follows communication, so visible updates matter
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Answer: D. Perception follows communication, so visible updates matter
When information is missing, people fill the gap with worry or rumour. Steady, honest updates create confidence, so good work is seen as good work.
56. Tight deadline vs quality
You have two days to deliver five long guides, but each needs expert review that takes a week. What is the best trade-off?
- A.Deliver all five without review to meet the date
- B.Agree with the manager to publish the two highest-priority guides fully reviewed now and schedule the rest, explaining the risk of unreviewed content
- C.Miss the deadline without telling anyone
- D.Make all five guides very short so review is not needed
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Answer: B. Agree with the manager to publish the two highest-priority guides fully reviewed now and schedule the rest, explaining the risk of unreviewed content
Priorities and risks should be discussed early, not hidden. Shipping the most important pieces at full quality gives value now while protecting accuracy. Unreviewed expert content can damage trust far more than a short delay.
57. The purple squirrel
A manager wants a data engineer with 8+ years, five cloud certifications and fintech experience, at a budget 30% below market, joining in 15 days. After 6 weeks you have no hires. What is the best move?
- A.Keep sourcing quietly and hope a perfect candidate appears
- B.Escalate to the CEO that the manager is difficult
- C.Lower the bar yourself and send weaker profiles without telling the manager
- D.Show market data on salary, supply and notice periods, then agree on trade-offs: fewer must-haves, higher budget, or a longer timeline
Show answer
Answer: D. Show market data on salary, supply and notice periods, then agree on trade-offs: fewer must-haves, higher budget, or a longer timeline
A recruiter acts as a talent advisor. Salary benchmarks, talent supply and funnel data let the manager choose which constraint to relax. Silent sourcing wastes time, secret bar-lowering breaks trust, and escalating first damages the relationship.
58. A manager wants to hire a friend
A hiring manager wants to hire a close friend into their own team without interviewing anyone else. What should you do?
- A.Do it; managers choose their teams
- B.Tell the friend they cannot apply
- C.Hire the friend but hide the relationship
- D.Explain the conflict of interest, ask the manager to disclose it, and run the normal fair process with another person leading the decision
Show answer
Answer: D. Explain the conflict of interest, ask the manager to disclose it, and run the normal fair process with another person leading the decision
Hiring a close friend without competition is a conflict of interest and can lead to unfairness, favouritism claims and team distrust. The friend may still be the best candidate, but the process must show it. Most codes of conduct require disclosure.
59. Expansion request from an unhappy account
A department at an account wants 50 more seats, but the main team has open complaints about performance and their sponsor is unhappy. What is the best way to handle this?
- A.Support the expansion, but be open about the current issues and agree a fix plan with the sponsor so the new team does not inherit the same problems
- B.Close the expansion quickly before the sponsor finds out
- C.Refuse the expansion until every complaint is fully resolved
- D.Hand the request to sales and stay out of it
Show answer
Answer: A. Support the expansion, but be open about the current issues and agree a fix plan with the sponsor so the new team does not inherit the same problems
Expansion built on hidden problems often turns into bigger churn later. Being transparent and fixing the core issues builds trust and makes the larger deal stick. Refusing a real need loses value, and hiding it damages the relationship with the sponsor.
60. A new executive reviews every vendor
A new CIO at a key account announces a review of all software vendors. Your sponsor has left. What should you do first?
- A.Request a meeting with the CIO through your remaining contacts, bring a concise value summary in their terms, and learn their priorities and criteria
- B.Send the CIO a long product brochure
- C.Wait to be contacted
- D.Offer a discount before any meeting
Show answer
Answer: A. Request a meeting with the CIO through your remaining contacts, bring a concise value summary in their terms, and learn their priorities and criteria
New executives often consolidate vendors, and the ones who engage early with clear proof of value do best. Understanding their priorities lets you position your product as part of their plan. Discounting first signals low value.
